‘Rat nearly jumped on my girl’s head!’ says Luton mum

The homes of Leagrave residents are being blighted by an “out of control” rat population, with claims that the council is doing little to help.

Residents of Vincent Road argue that they are fed up of rats running riot and feeding from their bins, a problem which started six months ago.

One of the bins where the rats allegedly feed.

One mother claimed: “The other day my daughter and I were walking and rats were jumping out from the bushes.

“She’s only five and one nearly jumped on her head!

“When I cook dinner they run across the windowsill, and they jump out from the bins; the council bins are designed with a hole in the bottom. Rats also chewed my daughter’s air vent - we’ve had to block them.”

A Luton Borough Council spokeswoman, said: “Controlling the rat population in any urban area is a challenge and we are sorry to hear of the issues this resident has raised.

At the windowsill.

“We have a carefully-managed baiting programme in operation. The council also provides free treatments in residential/owner occupied premises.

“In this [the mother’s] situation, it is a matter for the tenant’s private landlord. We contacted the letting agent who told us they were aware of the issue and the landlord had plans to treat it. If no action has been taken, we would ask the mother to contact us.”

However, the mother argued: “This is a council matter - these rats come from the river - but the staff won’t even visit us to see how bad the problem is.”